Quit The Hero Party

EP.64 Skebal the Ancient Lich (4)

He had lived for centuries.

It was a life spent discarding many things.

The human body was too frail for the pursuit of truth. So he did away with it. Once he discarded flesh, all that remained was a skeleton made of magical power.

He was satisfied.

He tried to discard a bit more. The more he discarded, the closer the truth seemed. The further he escaped from being human, the nearer he drew to starlight.

However, he never truly reached it.

No matter how many things he discarded, truth remained elusive.

At that point, he looked around him.

Things blocking his path became visible.

This time, he decided to clear them away.

The magic academy he had spent centuries building up in the pursuit of truth would be used to tear something down this time.

The kingdom fell.

He burst into laughter in the kingdom that turned to ashes overnight. It was so easy to bring down the kingdom where he was born and raised.

It was easy.

It couldn’t be this simple.

A wizard who hadn’t even lived a hundred years was never a worthy opponent. His true enemies had always been warriors. The superhumans known as the masters of the sword were a threat.

Threatening, yes.

But not to the point he couldn’t handle them.

After facing them a few times, he learned how to deal with warriors. At that point, he thought to himself.

‘No one can stop me.’

It was true.

The Mage of Ancient Dragons was unable to touch those bound by shadows due to a contract. The only worthy opponents could be the Black Dragon, Gletus, or Ganikalt, the Death’s Blade…but.

They already belonged to the shadows like himself.

What remained was simple.

If he could clear away everything that stood in the way of the truth, that would be enough.

Certainly, that should be the case.

Creeeak!

The skull shook.

Skebal’s magical gaze wavered.

‘Why is this happening?’

Why did these things keep appearing?

Whenever he felt he was close to touching the truth or had starlight before his eyes, they would always appear.

As if something was blocking his way to maintain balance.

“You tread the wrong path, Skebal.”

“What do you know about me?”

“Your pursuit of truth is commendable. However, there exists a taboo for magicians. Do not overstep your limits, Skebal.”

A voice resounded in his ears.

He recalled the ashen-haired mage who had looked down on him with beast-like yellow eyes.

“I warn you, Skebal.”

“If you cross that line…”

The ashen elf spoke.

“Everything you have will turn to ashes.”

Skebal’s dark gaze focused straight ahead.

At the end of his line of sight stood a single mage. Skebal watched as the magical power rose above the mage’s body.

It was ashen.

Leading the ashes, the mage approached.

‘Ashen.’

Repulsive ashen once again blocked his path.

2.

Skebal the Ancient Lich.

This legendary ancient magician knew how to deal with warriors. The renowned warriors he buried on the battlefield could surely rival mountains and seas.

‘Dealing with warriors isn’t difficult.’

It’s true that approaching them was dangerous. However, Skebal had never allowed warriors to close in.

He tore up the ground.

He lined up spells and set traps.

No matter how outstanding a warrior was, they could not break through the dozens of spells Skebal laid out with their bare body.

‘Warriors don’t have high resistance from the start.’

Resistance to spells can’t be increased just by training one’s body. If they didn’t have the ‘special’ body of a hero, the warrior’s resistance in front of Skebal was like paper.

‘They can slash at spells from the outside and respond.’

But what about spells that grip from the inside?

Unlike him, who abandoned his flesh, the human body is limited by various factors.

You can’t live without a heart.

You can’t see if your eyes burst.

Skebal also knew how to face warriors. If it weren’t for Ganikalt, the Death’s Blade, there was no warrior who could win against him in a 1:1 battle.

‘…It must be so.’

Skebal waved his hand.

In an instant, the spell was completed.

Bone-Grave.

Bam! Bam! Bam! Fragments of bones shot up from the ground.

The soaring bone spears blocked the way.

Rebuild.

The ground sank dramatically. Trees were uprooted. The very ground was reconstructed so that anyone couldn’t approach.

Swamp.

The reconstructed ground turned into a swamp. You couldn’t even make a proper leap. By doing this much, the warrior could no longer approach.

If the opponent was just a pure warrior.

Yet the opponent was not a warrior.

She was a mage like him.

“…”

Thud, the ashen figure struck the ground. As she stepped onto the swampy ground, the spells she had stored were released in order.

Rebuild.

The ground returned to its original state. The swamp began to burn away the moment one stepped onto it, hardening.

What about the bone spears?

With just a swing of her fist, the ashen mage shattered them. Not even for one second could they hold her back.

She granted him another chance to approach.

Seeing the ashen figure come closer, Skebal reached out. He invoked spells that buried countless warriors.

Grasp.

A spell made of mana tried to grip at the heart.

The ashen mage reached out her hand, twisting it while holding back Skebal’s grasp.

The spell faltered.

Bones let out a scream.

He began to weave another spell from scratch, but even as he did, the damages from the blows made Skebal’s protective barrier creak. It began to crack.

‘…My methods for facing warriors aren’t working.’

Because the opponent was a mage like him.

…How to deal with a mage?

It’s a ridiculous thing to ask Skebal. Naturally, he knew. Better than anyone.

He would steal the circuit.

Counter with superior spells.

He enacted what he already knew.

Skebal’s dark gaze flashed. He read the spell circuit being activated by the ashen mage right before him.

He grasped the flow of that mana.

Trying to steal it.

Whoom!

However, what his hand grasped was empty air.

Nothing was caught.

Crack!

Once again, the shock rang through Skebal’s skull.

‘I can’t steal it.’

Before he could even steal, the spell was already being enacted. There was no room for theft in that process. The activation of that spell was very peculiar.

It did not draw the circuit.

Did not pour mana into the circuit.

It simply pulled out the completed one.

Like a knight drawing a sword from the belt, like a martial artist swinging a fist, the spell was enacted as if it were a part of the body.

…Then, can he counter it with a superior spell?

Skebal gazed at what was before him.

A fist swung. The spell contained within the fist warped the surroundings as it approached.

Smash.

Smite.

Basic, straightforward spells.

Boom!

There wasn’t even a spell that could match it.

The shock lifted his body into the air. The subsequent shock crashed him back down. Suddenly, his grasp caught sight of the ashen figure.

Crack!

The skull was gripped. The ashen mage began to run while smashing Skebal’s skull into the ground. Dirt flew up as Skebal stretched out his arm.

Smite.

Before that, the spell detonated.

In the end, his crushed arm hovered in the air. The ashen mage continued to charge and unleashed a series of spells.

Smite, Smite, Smite!

The shock continually shook his body. Along with it, his vision swayed. His arm creaked, and several ribs broke, rolling on the ground.

‘It doesn’t end.’

He couldn’t grasp that flow.

Skebal protected the life vessel within his skull as best he could. As long as he had this, his bones could regenerate.

Snap.

However, he could already guess it wouldn’t last long.

Smash.

Kraaaang!

With a deafening sound, Skebal’s body hit the floor and bounced again. The ashen one snatched it down once more.

Snap, crackle!

The barrier protecting his skull continued to crack.

While his barrier held, Skebal wove spells anew. He unleashed spells. However, his opponent was also a mage like him.

She countered with superior spells.

She captured and shot down his spells.

Slow ones merely turned away, twisting their bodies to escape.

In the meantime, that grasp was still holding onto Skebal’s skull. Fingers burrowed through the gaps of the barrier.

Crack, crack!

The barrier threatened to tear.

“Ha.”

Skebal burst into laughter.

‘There’s nothing.’

He couldn’t think of a way to deal with her.

He knew how to face warriors.

He knew how to face mages.

However.

He couldn’t find a way to deal with a battle mage that combined both.

Then what to do?

He grasped the situation.

‘Anyway, I can’t escape from here alive.’

He was certain of that.

‘Dying doesn’t matter.’

Losing the life vessel would be a huge loss. However, if he was going to lose it anyway, he should exhaust it as efficiently as possible.

“Balance.”

Skebal was also a mage.

Mages always seek efficiency. Cracks formed in Skebal’s bones. Black filth began to flow out.

“…!”

The ashen one released her grip on the filth.

She kicked his body away.

Suspended in mid-air, Skebal continued.

“I propose a deal.”

“The price?”

“My lifespan.”

“Speak your wish, magician.”

Skebal’s gaze flashed.

“A wave.”

“I want a wave that will engulf this forest, emanating from the saturated mana here.”

“Measuring the price.”

On the balance, Skebal’s lifespan was placed.

He gauged it. 90% of his lifespan was placed on the balance.

“I propose a deal.”

Mages are beings who make deals with stars.

As needed, a mage places anything on the balance.

Including their own lifespan.

3.

“Huh…”

I briefly stopped moving.

I saw something spreading around Skebal’s body. For a moment, I glimpsed starlight.

‘…Balance.’

Mana began to condense around Skebal’s body. I didn’t need to spend much time realizing where the enormous amount of mana was coming from.

‘Mana Spring.’

Mana that existed in a saturated state nearby.

I didn’t know how to control this mana. Neither did Skebal, for all I knew.

However, not knowing how to control it didn’t mean there was no way to handle it.

‘A deal using Balance.’

I didn’t know how much that would cost. I estimated the cost in my mind.

‘If I were to use my lifespan… roughly about one year.’

If it was only a year, I could achieve more than Skebal. However, I knew the side effects of placing my lifespan on the balance.

‘Doing that again feels a bit dodgy.’

I’ve had enough of that experience once.

“…?”

I looked ahead in silence.

A black barrier was condensing around Skebal. It took the shape of a dark hemisphere.

If that bursts.

‘…Apuria would definitely be blown away.’

Even considering the defenses of the royal capital, Apuria, being so close would surely be swept away.

That means I have to stop it.

I narrowed my eyes and stared at the black sphere engulfing Skebal.

I read the flow of mana.

Calculating its intensity and the directional force of the spell.

Deals with the stars can make anything possible. But there’s no guarantee that the results would always be perfect.

“As expected.”

There were indeed gaps present.

I caught sight of the unevenness of the spell.

I walked toward Skebal. With every step I took, ashen mana scattered.

Thud.

I extended my hand and placed my palm against the barrier. The moment my palm touched the barrier, it sizzled with a zzzz, beginning to burn away. I pressed my palm in further.

“This situation is seriously unfair.”

Battles with the Demon Lord’s Army are always like this.

Fighting these guys who always hide something up their sleeves is annoyingly tiresome.

“Some bastard sacrificed their lifespan and went on living for years…”

These demonic creatures would donate their lifespans as self-destructors. They don’t even die afterwards. It’s like they hoard their life or body for sacrifice and place their lifespan on the balance.

“Thinking back, it’s pretty damn frustrating.”

But what can I do?

I’m not going to become a lich, so I might just have to roll with it. I bitterly smiled as I raised my finger.

Zzzz.

Breaking through the gap in the barrier, my finger plunged into the black mass. After pushing in about half of my arm into the barrier, I finally felt the solidness at the tip of my finger.

“Hey.”

Skebal’s skull.

Grasping it, I exerted pressure on my finger. With my untouched left hand, I held onto my right arm. I lifted my foot and rested it on the barrier.

“You see, I’ve realized I’m a classless being, and I’ve been kinda depressed about it lately.”

A classless being.

To put it frankly, being a Battle Mage has no roots. If there had been a plan to create a class, it would have been more cleanly established already.

‘No way, you stupid bigshot, just take me for a class without a word!’

Shouldn’t the creator at least have to ask for permission?

Anyway, although I am indeed the founder of the Battle Mage…

“Damn it, I’m a Wizard.”

I am a wizard.

The class that centers around attribute magic, which is the first that comes to mind when you think of a mage.

“A person should have some roots.”

With those words, I shoved my finger into Skebal’s eye socket. The barrier protecting that skull had already cracked due to accumulated damage.

Crack.

I smashed through the barrier and dug my thumb and index finger into the skull. With my fingers lodged inside the skull, I opened my mouth.

“So, let’s finish it off with some roots.”

Ash.

New ashes do not get created. The ashes that I have scattered while dashing around until now gather together. They wrap around my arm, flowing into Skebal’s eye socket via my fingers.

‘Many are mistaken.’

I was a wizard from the beginning.

So much so that the ashen tower contained my signature fire spells, overflowing with roots of wizardry.

There was a reason I had run around scattering residues of mana.

That was for the sake of this one spell.

Ignite.

Tick.

A small spark flew within Skebal’s skull.

Tick, tick tick!

The spark devoured the residue of my mana spread inside the skull. The ashes ignited. They lit up.

Fwoosh!

Before long, the spark turned into flames.

The roaring flames flicked like a serpent’s tongue. The skull could no longer hold the flames. The flames overflowed through Skebal’s eye socket.

Crackle, crackle!

The flames that spilled over devoured the mana Skebal had condensed. They grew larger and larger. The small spark transformed into a blaze, swallowing up the black barrier.

Crackle, crackle, crackle!

The flames didn’t burn my skin.

What it consumed was mana. Burning the mana as fuel, the flames surged. I withdrew my hand that had been thrust into the barrier.

Whoosh!

Flames followed my fingertips.

Those flames attached to my index and thumb. Looking at those flames like a fuse, I raised my hand.

‘Those fingers, coated in ash and ignite.’

I rubbed those two fingers together.

The spell completed took on a completely different aspect than before.

Bam!

I flicked my fingers.

The completed spell erupted with light.

Ashes to Ashes.

A flash burst forth.

4.

Some say that in front of Skebal the Ancient Lich, at that moment, a mage’s entire life is negated.

Indeed, it was so.

Before the wizard who had lived for centuries, all the things that countless mages had built throughout their lives amounted to nothing but a sandcastle.

However, there stands a mage here.

That mage treads a different path than others. The very foundation of this mage is distinct. She dismisses a hundred years of someone’s effort in a matter of moments.

Such a person is not referred to as a genius in the world.

“Monster.”

Skebal saw the monster before his eyes.

The heat igniting his head made his magical gaze wobble. Through the warped scenery, Skebal stared at her.

She flicked her fingers.

Using the flames as a fuse, the spell was conveyed.

There was no need to read the transmitted spell.

Only the result was clear.

Ashes to Ashes.

A flash of light blared.

The slowly burning flames exploded in an instant. Expelling explosive heat, they cooked Skebal’s skull.

The flames touched the life vessel.

As the heat cooked his brain, the ancient lich thought.

Ashen.

Those two letters filled his mind.

“Ha.”

The ancient lich felt it.

His centuries of existence were being negated.

“…Damn ashen.”

The flames engulfed Skebal.